Is the Esoteric P03/D03 still relevant?

A friend owns a discontinued (x-3?) CD player which sounds great. Detailed yet non fatiguing as mentioned above. The analog circuitry remains superior even if the dac chip is old. Lack of a digital input limits flexibility in his unit. YMMV

Yes exactly... Say p3/D3 vs the newer k1?

well, owner bias may well play a part here... but I listen to my P-03, D-03, G-0Rb on a daily basis... It is a highly musical and engaging product.

I also use the D-03 with a Human Audio Tabla USB/SPDIF converter and get terrific sound from my Mac server...

All things considered- sound quality, build quality, durability, etc., short of the newer P-02/D-02 combination, I'm not sure I've heard another digital source I'd readily trade it for.

Contrary to some of Esoteric's popular reputation, the P-03 D-03 has a warm and musical tonal balance, with sufficient inner detail to be a real contender in my book...

Hope this is helpful.

There's also this X01 that I'm seeing float around too.... so many choices. I'm sure they're all good.

I think the one thing I like about the K1 is that there is a USB input... and the p3/d3 does not.

The P-03/D-03 is definately relivent. The one misconseption about digital is that the overall sound of the newer stuff blows away the older stuff. Obviously versatility of the new stuff blows away the old stuff... HDMI, USB, DSD compatibility, etc. The biggest problem being media, the newer stuff hooks you directly to hi rez much easier. All things considered, the Esoterics have terrific analog outputs and bullet proof power supplies, and that is going to have a bigger effect on overall sound more than the digital section and chip sets used. The chip set configuration and implementation is similar in the Esoterics, and the house sound is not much different player to player. If you can get a great deal on a P-03/D-03, which you can, you will be very happy, as long you like Esoteric to begin with! I saw athe pair for sale with 3 year warranty for $8000.00, now thats a slammin deal.